The Angel of Music
by TheVioletMuse
Summary: The Host Club has a new enemy in the form of transfer student, Seraphina Lenoir. She's already stolen their music room, but what happens when she unwittingly steals the heart of a specific host? (Takes place during the anime. Mostly canon with some divergence. May incorporate elements of manga.)


All seven members of the Ouran High School Host Club stood outside the closed double doors to Music Room 3, entranced by the melody that emanated from within. Haruhi and the Hitachiin twins had been the last to arrive, joining the four older hosts already standing in front of the doors. It never occurred to Haruhi—even for a moment—to ask why they were standing out there, if the door was locked, or to try and check the handle herself; she had been immediately drawn in by the beautiful music that echoed throughout the wide, marbled hallway.

The composition playing was unknown to each of them but emotionally inspiring, nonetheless. For Haruhi, the lighter, airy notes made her feel at peace for the first time since coming to Ouran. The twins would later realize that they both found the dizzying pacing oddly calming. Kyoya found himself drawn to the icy detachment of isolated high notes that cut through the din of the piece. The sadness of the song resonated with Tamaki. The tune reminded Honey of another one that had played a few months prior as he ate an especially delicious slice of chocolate cake at an upscale café. Mori was unable to identify the emotion that swelled within him as he listened, only that it was something he had never felt before.

Finally, the last note sounded followed by an empty, forlorn silence, pulling each of the hosts from their collective reverie. Kyoya shook his head as if to shake himself from the stupor and reached for the door as Tamaki dabbed at the corner of his eye. Finding the door unlocked, Kyoya turned the handle and pushed. The door swung open slowly, revealing a dimly lit room. All seven hosts entered, each one blinking rapidly as their eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting.

While most of the room was dark, the piano on the far side of the room was illuminated by a few candles and a lone lamp. At the piano, sat a girl. Her back was to the door, so the only part the curious host club members could see of her was dark, long hair, cascading down her back. As they moved towards her, she reached out to turn the sheet music in front of her, and they were rewarded with a glimpse of her dainty, pale hand.

Unable to fully see where she was walking, Haruhi stumbled into Tamaki, who went sprawling forward, knocking over one of the settees as he fell. The noise alerted the pianist to the intrusion, and she whipped her head around to locate the source of the sound. Her eyes fell on the mess of limbs that was Tamaki and the twins, who had fallen over themselves laughing at their leader's blunder, and she rose from the piano bench in one fluid motion.

The girl stood there like a statue cut from marble. She was petite and rail thin, but her arms and legs were toned-the muscular definition of an athlete. Her pale pink lips were twisted into a pout, while her blue eyes-which were initially widened in surprise, giving her the appearance of a baby animal-had narrowed into slits.

"What are you doing here?"

Much like the piece she'd been playing only moments before, the girl's voice had a musical quality to it that pierced through the chaos of the three boys wrestling on the ground. Both Tamaki and the twins froze, and the remaining, upright host members redirected their attention to the girl at the piano—except for Mori, whose gaze had yet to stray from her.

The room, once filled with the most beautiful music any of them had ever heard, was now thick with tension as no one wanted to be the first to speak to this strange interloper, not even Tamaki. It was Kyoya, finally, who broke the silence.

"Pardon our intrusion, ma'am, but this is our club room," he explained, pushing his glasses up further on his nose, "so I believe the more apt question would be: what are _you_ doing here?"

Kyoya's polite reserve seemed to snap Tamaki back to reality. The host club leader scrambled to his feet and rushed over to the girl at the piano. He came to a screeching halt in front of her and doubled over into a deep bow. A few times, he tried and failed to grasp her hand for a kiss. Each time, she pulled her hand away, a grimace plastered clearly on her face.

Tamaki stood back up to his full height, with his chest puffed out in unnecessary bravado. "What my uncouth companion means to say, _princess_, is that we are the host club of Ouran Academy, and this," he paused to gesture widely at the darkened room around them, "is where we entertain lovely ladies with way too much time on their hands. As prestigious hosts, the gentlemen of the host club have vowed to—"

"—Is he serious?" the girl asked the other hosts, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Yeah…"

"Unfortunately…"

"I wouldn't say that…"

"Depends who's asking…"

"Yup!"

"Mmm…"

The stranger's eyes went wide at the crescendo of responses from the other hosts. Ever the drama king, Tamaki clutched his chest with one hand and rested the other against his forehead as if he was about to faint.

"I am betrayed," he whimpered, dropping to his knees and twisting away from everyone. "I cannot go on."

The girl watched Tamaki crawl away on hands and knees to the other side of the room then redirected her attention to the remaining host members. She crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow, waiting for something…. Kyoya stepped forward from the pack and approached the girl.

"Allow me to apologize for our bumbling president," Kyoya continued, ignoring sounds of protest coming from the far corner of the room. "What he was trying to say is that this room—Music Room 3—is reserved for our club. Always has been. So, you'll need to find another room to use."

The girl's second eyebrow shot up, joining the first. "Oh really?"

"I'm afraid so," replied Kyoya, the ghost of a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh really…" she repeated, more forcefully. This time, it was less of a question and more like she was daring Kyoya to repeat his answer.

Kyoya's confidence wavered but only slightly. "Yes," he confirmed, crossing his own arms across his chest.

"Ha!" the girl laughed, "that's funny."

Kaoru leaned over to whisper in Hikaru's ear. "You know, for some reason, I get the feeling that she's not actually amused."

"I get the feeling you're right, Kaoru," Hikaru whispered back in agreement.

Haruhi elbowed them both in the ribs, raising a finger to her lips to signal silence. They all watched as the girl continued her fake laugh as she marched over to the windows and threw open one of the drapes to let light flood in. They all recoiled at the sudden brightness, except for the girl, who leaned down and rifled through a bag on the floor. She pulled a slip of paper from the bag and marched back over to Kyoya.

"It's hilarious, it really is," she insisted, "because this piece of paper right here says that _I_ reserved the room." She thrust the paper into Kyoya's hand.

Kyoya scanned the paper once, twice, and a third time for safety.

"What does it say?" Honey asked.

Kyoya looked back at the group and cleared his throat. "It says, ahem, that Ms.—"

The girl snatched the slip of paper back. "That Ms. Seraphina Lenoir has reserved Music Room 3 for the hours listed, which means I have this room for another two hours. Check with the administration office if you don't believe me." She shoved the paper back into her bag. "I don't know how you've been doing things, but you haven't reserved the room properly. If you had, I'd be elsewhere. And now it's time for you to be elsewhere. I am not in the mood for your shenanigans. Please close the door behind you on your way out."

The girl called Seraphina Lenoir sat back down on the piano bench, staring at them, waiting for them to leave. The host club stared back, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Even Kyoya seemed to be at a loss for words. Their president, of course, was still sulking in the corner, oblivious to this new development.

"Well?" she asked, impatiently, her foot tapping against the marble floor. "Shouldn't you be going? Elsewhere...I believe it was? As in, not here."

Slowly, the host club members turned around and stumbled dumbly towards the doors. Kyoya made a detour over to the far corner of the room in order to drag Tamaki out with them. Once they were out in the hall, Kyoya closed the door behind them. For a long moment, they all just stared at one another in silent shock.

"Okay," Haruhi said, breaking the silence. "What the heck just happened?"


End file.
